The Spoilers / Juggernaut. Desmond Bagley

uncapped the lipstick case and looked inside it; the lipstick was worn right down and there was evidence that the girl had tried to dig out the last of the wax, which was confirmed by the discovery of a spent match with a reddened end caught in a crack of the drawer. Stephens, an expert on the interpretation of such minutiae, concluded that June Hellier had been destitute.

      The panties had a couple of reddish-brown stains on the front, stains which were repeated on one of the stocking tops. It looked very much like dried blood and was probably the result of inexpert injection into the thigh. The key-ring contained three keys, one of which was a car ignition key. Stephens turned to Ipsley. ‘Nip down and see if the girl had a car.’

      Another key fitted a suitcase which he found in a corner. It was a deluxe elaborately fitted case of the type which Stephens had considered buying as a present for his wife – the idea had been rejected on the grounds of excessive expense. It contained nothing.

      He could not find anything for the third key to fit so he turned his attention to the handbag, which was of fine-grained leather. He was about to open it when Ipsley came back. ‘No car, sir.’

      ‘Indeed!’ Stephens pursed his lips. He snapped open the catch of the handbag and looked inside. Papers, tissues, another lipstick worn to a nubbin, three shillings and four-pence in coins and no paper money. ‘Listen carefully, Sergeant,’ he said. ‘Good handbag, good suitcase, car key but no car, good clothes except the stockings which are cheap, gold lipstick case in drawer, Woolworth’s lipstick in bag – both worn out. What do you make of all that?’

      ‘Come down in the world, sir.’

      Stephens nodded as he pushed at the few coins with his forefinger. He said abruptly. ‘Can you tell me if she was a virgin, Doctor?’

      ‘She wasn’t,’ said Pomray. ‘I’ve checked that.’

      ‘Maybe she was on the knock,’ offered Ipsley.

      ‘Possibly,’ said Stephens. ‘We can find out – if we have to.’

      Pomray straightened. ‘She died on this bed all right; there’s the usual evidence. I’ve done all I can here. Is there anywhere I can wash?’

      ‘There’s a bathroom just along the hall,’ said Ipsley. ‘It’s not what I’d call hygienic, though.’

      Stephens was sorting the few papers. ‘What did she die of, Doctor?’

      ‘I’d say an overdose of a drug – but what it was will have to wait for the autopsy.’

      ‘Accidental or deliberate?’ asked Stephens.

      ‘That will have to wait for the autopsy too,’ said Pomray. ‘If it was a really massive overdose then you can be pretty sure it was deliberate. An addict usually knows to a hair how much to take. If it’s not too much of an overdose then it could be accidental.’

      ‘If it’s deliberate then I have a choice between suicide and murder,’ said Stephens musingly.

      ‘I think you can safely cut out murder,’ said Pomray. ‘Addicts don’t like other people sticking needles into them.’ He shrugged. ‘And the suicide rate among addicts is high once they hit bottom.’

      A small snorting noise came from Stephens as he made the discovery of a doctor’s appointment card. The name on it rang a bell somewhere in the recesses of his mind. ‘What do you know about Dr Nicholas Warren? Isn’t he a drug man?’

      Pomray nodded. ‘So she was one of his girls, was she?’ he said with interest.

      ‘What kind of a doctor is he? Is he on the level?’

      Pomray reacted with shock. ‘My God! Nick Warren’s reputation is as pure as the driven snow. He’s one of the top boys in the field. He’s no quack, if that’s what you mean.’

      ‘We get all kinds,’ said Stephens levelly. ‘As you know very well.’ He gave the card to Ipsley. ‘He’s not too far from here. See if you can get hold of him, Sergeant; we still haven’t any positive identification of the girl.’

      ‘Yes, sir,’ said Ipsley, and made for the door.

      ‘And, Sergeant,’ called Stephens. ‘Don’t tell him the girl’s dead.’

      Ipsley grinned. ‘I won’t.’

      ‘Now look here,’ said Pomray. ‘If you try to pressure Warren you’ll get a hell of a surprise. He’s a tough boy.’

      ‘I don’t like doctors who hand out drugs,’ said Stephens grimly.

      ‘You know damn-all about it,’ snapped Pomray. ‘And you won’t fault Nick Warren on medical ethics. If you go on that tack he’ll tie you up in knots.’

      ‘We’ll see. I’ve handled tough ones before.’

      Pomray grinned suddenly. ‘I think I’ll stay and watch this. Warren knows as much – if not more – about drugs and drug addicts as anyone in the country. He’s a bit of a fanatic about it. I don’t think you’ll get much change out of him. I’ll be back as soon as I’ve cleaned up in this sewer of a bathroom.’

      Stephens met Warren in the dimly lit hall outside the girl’s room, wanting to preserve the psychological advantage he had gained by not informing the doctor of the girl’s death. If he was surprised at the speed of Warren’s arrival he did not show it, but studied the man with professional detachment as he advanced up the hall.

      Warren was a tall man with a sensitive yet curiously immobile face. In all his utterances he spoke thoughtfully, sometimes pausing for quite a long time before he answered. This gave Stephens the impression that Warren had not heard or was ignoring the question, but Warren always answered just as a repetition was on Stephens’s tongue. This deliberateness irritated Stephens, although he tried not to show it.

      ‘I’m glad you were able to come,’ he said. ‘We have a problem, Doctor. Do you know a young lady called June Hellier?’

      ‘Yes, I do,’ said Warren, economically.

      Stephens waited expectantly for Warren to elaborate, but Warren merely looked at him. Swallowing annoyance, he said, ‘Is she one of your patients?’

      ‘Yes,’ said Warren.

      ‘What were you treating her for, Doctor?’

      There was a long pause before Warren said, ‘That is a matter of patient-doctor relationship which I don’t care to go into.’

      Stephens felt Pomray stir behind him. He said stiffly, ‘This is a police matter, Doctor.’

      Again Warren paused, holding Stephens’s eye with a level stare. At last he said, ‘I suggest that if Miss Hellier needs treatment we are wasting time standing here.’

      ‘She will not be requiring treatment,’ said Stephens flatly.

      Again Pomray stirred. ‘She’s dead, Nick.’

      ‘I see,’ said Warren. He seemed indifferent.

      Stephens was irritated at Pomray’s interjection, but more interested in Warren’s lack of reaction. ‘You don’t seem surprised, Doctor.’

      ‘I’m not,’ said Warren briefly.

      ‘You were supplying her with drugs?’

      ‘I have prescribed for her – in the past.’

      ‘What drugs?’

      ‘Heroin.’

      ‘Was that necessary?’

      Warren was as immobile as ever, but there was a flinty look in his eye as he said, ‘I don’t propose to discuss the medical treatment of any of my patients with a layman.’

      A surge of anger surfaced in Stephens. ‘But you are not surprised at her death. Was she